MLP Opinion
by LoverofChrist
Summary: A series of opinion essays I'm working on about MLP. No success publishing them on brony websites. Hopefully they'll be allowed here. Rated T because I will have to reference things that are not necessarily child-friendly, unfortunately.
1. Chapter 1:Thoughts of a Rogue Pegasister

**So I know tis isn't a story per se, but I have not been successful contacting MLP fan sites about posting opinion pieces about the show. So I finally decided to try it here.**

I am something that Lauren Faust could never have anticipated.

I am a Christian, homeschooling, seventeen-year-old, Disney-loving, introverted, depressed, shy Pegasister.

My Story

I started getting into the show about six months ago, mostly due to two videos I watched on YouTube—one saying that Pinkie's straight hair scene in Party of One was one of the top ten disturbing moments in kids' shows (I disagree, but this isn't the place to outline why). I researched the show to find out if this scene could really be called disturbing.

As for the other video, I probably wouldn't have seen it if I had never seen Frozen. It was one of those "evil Elsa" fanmade movies with "Angel of Darkness" playing over color-edited video of Elsa. I realized the song was very good and immediately searched for its official music video. If you've ever done likewise, you know what was very near the top of the list: a Luna/Nightmare Moon compilation set to "Angel of Darkness". I watched the video mostly for the song, but between that and my introduction to Pinkie Pie, I was intrigued. More searches turned up brony commentaries of entire episodes, highlight clips, brony reviews, speculation videos, fanmade works—the list goes on.

Almost against my will, I found myself loving this beautiful world called Equestria. It was such a far cry from my own world—so much better. I didn't turn into a pegasister overnight. It took several weeks. But the realization only took a moment. Although I hadn't seen "Read it and Weep" at the time, I had a moment very similar to Rainbow Dash's. "I love this story! I love My Little Pony! *Gasp!* I'm a pegasister!"

The feeling of calling myself that was really strange at first, but now I know it's true. The Mane Six stole my heart.

But like other bronies, I keep it hidden. I literally only watch pony movies with my door closed, and usually only one earbud in so I can hear if someone knocks or even just walks by. My brother only discovered by accident that my YouTube account was flooded with MLP videos. I told my best friend about my love for the show and got laughed at, so I dug myself in deeper by trying to tell her why I loved it, giving her as an example the plotline of "A Canterlot Wedding". (I stopped before the changelings showed up, figuring that would turn her off.) The conversation ended with her seeming amused and me embarrassed, so I dropped it.

I'm terrified of telling my parents; sometimes I think I'd get a better reaction if I said I was pregnant. I just don't tell my parents that when I go online, I'm more likely to watch a brony commentary than a news report (and I do watch those…sometimes). I literally have nightmares where they find out I'm a pegasister and I'm trying to justify it. When I wake up from those dreams I usually breathe a prayer of thanks that it didn't really happen.

But part of what makes being a pegasister difficult, at least for me, is the rest of the fandom. For one thing, the show was meant for little girls. When grown men watch it, they bring into it assumptions and attitudes that have no business in Equestria—which leads to fanart of ponies in X-rated situations, or fanfics full of graphic violence or detailed sexual content. Besides that, my ideas about the show are dramatically different from most of the bronies. For instance, I loved both Equestria Girls movies, especially Rainbow Rocks (I could write another whole article on Sunset Shimmer alone). I think Discord is a pain in the neck. Applejack is my second favorite pony after Twilight. I laugh at the same funny scenes over and over again, even when I have them memorized and am just replaying them mentally. In short, I am a very unique pegasister. In the eyes of most of the fandom, I'm probably a bit of a rogue.

But my fellow bronies: isn't that what being a brony is all about?

Bronies by definition do what society does not expect them to do. They watch an animated cartoon show about pastel ponies, cosplay as the lead (female, I may add) characters, produce fanart and fanfics, and host entire conventions to meet likeminded people. We're the different people among cartoon enthusiasts.

Doesn't it make sense, then, that there'd be different people among the bronies?

Doesn't it make sense that if there is a whole group of grown men who watch and adore a show called My Little Pony, that within that group, there would be people who have a different perspective on the show than most others?

Don't tell me this is wishful thinking. If it's wishful thinking, then being a pegasister is not worth it.

It's not worth going against society's expectations if the others who do it with you mock you when your views differ from their own.


	2. Chapter 2: Why Creepypasta MLP is Wrong

I have planned this essay for a long time, and decided that immediately prior to the release of season 5 of our favorite cartoon show was the best time for it.

Simply put, I want the MLP staff and the brony community to stand up and roundly condemn fanfictions such as "Cupcakes", "The Rainbow Factory", and "Rarity's New Patterns". Why? I believe that these three stories do not deserve to be called My Little Pony fanfictions, and I intend to prove why by looking at each story.

**1. Cupcakes**

Virtually every brony and pegasister today has either read this particular story or heard of it. For those who have done neither, a brief synopsis:

Rainbow Dash is invited to Pinkie's house to help her bake cupcakes. Upon her arrival, she is presented with a special cupcake which Pinkie brightly announces she made especially just for Rainbow Dash. The unsuspecting Pegasus eats the cupcake, goes to sleep, and wakes up in Pinkie's basement strapped to a wall with meat hooks. Around her, she sees the corpses of multiple ponies in various degrees of mutilation. Pinkie Pie then appears and gleefully explains that the murder victims Dash sees have been used in her special cupcake recipe, which many ponies have eaten without knowing its gruesome ingredient. Pinkie then announces she is "out of secret ingredient"—to be blunt, blood—and Dash will supply it. The rest of the story consists of Dash crying for mercy as Pinkie butchers her, still alive, collecting the blood to use in her cupcakes later. Finally, the story concludes with Dash's death.

This story is offensive on a couple of levels. First and foremost, it's just plain disturbing to read such a graphic story with any characters involved. But for me, the most offensive part of this story is that it masquerades as an MLP fanfic, even with the same name as Pinkie's signature song with Applebloom. While this may not bother some bronies, just remember—THE SHOW WAS NEVER MEANT FOR US! It was meant for little girls!

Imagine a little girl going onto YouTube, searching for the Pinkie "Cupcakes" song. I just came from YouTube myself and typed "mlp cupcakes" into the search engine. I didn't specify whether I wanted the song or videos of the fanfiction. Guess what I found? The first page (aside from two totally irrelevant ads) was COMPLETELY full of fan animations either telling the whole story of "Cupcakes" or a portion of it. Fortunately I knew better than to open any of them. But would the little girls I babysit have known? Would the show's intended audience be scarred for life by a simple search for an innocent song?

**2. The Rainbow Factory**

While this story is not as well-known, it also has been very influential on the fanbase. Again, a brief summary:

Scootaloo finds herself in Cloudsdale's Rainbow Factory, in a prison cell, trying to find out what's happening and why she's there. A masked pony enters the room of cells and explains to Scootaloo and the other prisoners that the Rainbow Factory was established by Princess Celestia decades before. When Luna was banished to the moon and Celestia became responsible for both day and night, she delegated the task of rainbow production to the Pegasi. Overtime the Pegasi decided the original materials they used to make rainbows were insufficient, so they began taking those Pegasi who weren't "perfect enough" and draining their color—and thus life—from their bodies to make rainbows. Basically, the factory is a death sentence. And Scootaloo, as basically a handicapped Pegasus, is rainbow material. The masked pony then reveals herself to be Rainbow Dash—Scootaloo's executioner.

Remember in the show when Pinkie takes a drink from the rainbow pool in Cloudsdale? After becoming familiar with this particular fanfiction, I can't watch that scene anymore without feeling sick.

This fanfiction actually has an interesting historical parallel: Nazi Germany. Most of the time when we hear the word "Holocaust", we think of the murder of Jews. While that's certainly true (and tragic), the truth is that many others were also murdered by Hitler. Among the victims were those considered not "perfect enough"—the old, the weak, the handicapped, the mentally disabled, etc. Was the author of "The Rainbow Factory" trying to send the message that Cloudsdale was engaging in a pony Holocaust of sorts? Was he trying to say that those who aren't "perfect" deserve life as much as the rest of us?

I don't know. It's certainly an excellent message. But is it a message that belongs in an MLP story?

The answer to that question is definitely not.

**3. Rarity's New Patterns**

Probably the least well-known of the three fanfics I've discussed, but famous enough to bear discussing. A summary:

Rarity is dissatisfied with her recent creations at the boutique, and she is very frustrated that she is unable to do better. When Rainbow Dash visits, she gets a horrible idea—Rainbow wakes up chained down and with Rarity standing over her with an ax. Rarity announces her plans to take Rainbow's fur to use for her clothing designs, certain the Pegasus won't mind "because you're always so loyal to your friends". She skins Rainbow alive, killing her, and makes a vest from the fur. When Twilight visits, she notices the blood and Rainbow's severed cutie mark and immediately demands an explanation. Rarity replies that Twilight will find out what happened to Rainbow—then proceeds to butcher Twilight. Each member of the Mane Six visit in succession, wondering what has happened to their friends, and each is likewise murdered. Sweetie Belle then wanders in and seeing what has happened, she sobs and begs Rarity to stop. "This is madness!" she cries. "This is fashion!" Rarity laughs maniacally in reply before killing herself with the ax.

I doubt I have to spend too much time justifying why this story is disturbing. To put this in perspective, think about this: flaying victims alive to wear their skin dates back to the Mayans. Their priests would, in a ritual celebrating the arrival of spring, flay human victims alive and wear the skin. Multiple carvings exist that illustrate this gruesome practice, and we are understandably repulsed by such barbarity.

So my question is, if the historical fact of the Mayans doing this is stomach-turning, why is it apparently okay or even commendable in a fanfiction of a children's show?

**Why This Matters**

Let me speak directly to the bronies briefly. Maybe it seems as if I'm bashing the whole brony fandom. Let me be clear—I am not. Since I am part of the fandom, that would mean that I am bashing myself as well.

I have two major problems with the fanfictions described above and with those who love them and produce retellings of them. First of all, they're all graphic and nightmare-inducing. If Lauren Faust knew about these stories (and she probably knows about some of them), she would be both horrified and heartbroken over what we've done to a world she created.

Secondly, what about our image? I hear bronies constantly talking about being teased, singled out, or maybe sniggered at because they are bronies. Pegasisters talk about the same experiences, though to a lesser extent. But think of it this way. Society, even our fellow cartoon lovers, already consider us strange. They already think we're crazy for loving a show meant for little girls. And on top of that, many people consider us worse than crazy. Bronies have been called pedophiles, gay, unmanly, or worse because of a show they watch. Granted, some bronies are probably on the weird side, but the point is the vast majority are just enjoying a good show.

So why do we give the world evidence to say we're crazy?

I believe that fanfictions like the ones I've discussed give our opponents ammunition to attack us. If people already believe that we are disturbed, or maybe they just aren't sure, hearing even a portion of one of those stories will certainly convince them. Going back to my example of the little girl searching for the cupcakes song—what if her mother is in the room with her? What if the girl clicks on a "Cupcakes" video and her mother sees it? What would she think of the bronies?

**Conclusion**

I would like to wrap this up by calling upon several people to take action.

Lauren Faust: I understand that the show is not what you intended it to be anymore, and I feel sorry for you on that level. But I also know that you have created a world where many of us would give anything to spend an hour. Bronies and pegasisters alike have a deep respect for you that I think you'll never fully comprehend. Please speak up and tell the bronies to stop making such perversions of your story.

Tara Strong: After Lauren Faust, you're probably the most respected woman attached to MLP. I recognize that you are involved in many other cartoons and My Little Pony may not necessarily be at the top of your list, but to us, you'll always be the voice of Twilight Sparkle. And when Twilight speaks, bronies listen. Please add your voice to the outcry against horror stories written with MLP characters.

Bronies and pegasisters: On behalf of Hasbro and the Mane Six, please stop producing such deplorable stories. There are plenty of alternative ways to show your appreciation and write stories higher than the children's level than by writing gridmark.


	3. Chapter 3: Why I Love Sunset Shimmer

A (since-removed) poll on .com reveals that over 67% of visitors to the website named Elsa as their favorite character. Reasons probably vary, but one reason that I believe Elsa is so popular is that she is realistic. We all have some deep, hidden secret that we're afraid to show anyone else. Sometimes, as in the case of Elsa's ice magic, it's harmless or even fun and beneficial. But sometimes, the secret is meant to stay a secret and we struggle to hide it.

While this may sound off-topic, I believe Queen Elsa relates to Sunset Shimmer from Equestria Girls because of her incredible character depth. Whatever your opinion on the whole Equestria Girls franchise, you have to admit that Sunset Shimmer is probably one of the best-developed characters in the MLP universe to date, for several reasons.

**Reason 1: She has a very realistic struggle.**

Bluntly, anyone who "turned into a raging she-demon" and then ended up crying on her knees, repenting, would have a hard time afterwards. Though Sunset Shimmer has the human Mane Five as her friends and moral support now, the rest of the students still shun her. Add to that the pressure of trying to maintain a blameless persona to distance yourself from your past, and you get an idea of the challenge facing her.

Most likely, no one reading this will have turned into a demon or ever will do so. (If you have turned into a demon at some point, you should probably see a counselor.) But most of us have done something very wrong of which we were later very ashamed and wanted to make it right. But feelings die hard. Sunset's struggle with the rest of the school shows her to be a very real character with the same problems as us.

**Reason 2: She acknowledges her wrongdoing.**

Most of us generally try to downplay our part in bad situations, ranging from car accidents to empty cookie jars. Others will downright lie to get out of trouble. Interestingly, however, Sunset Shimmer does neither. Most of Sunset's friends tend to use euphemisms to refer to the fall formal ("pretty bad", "boo-boos"), and if they use more blunt language ("horrifyingly awful winged monster") they immediately apologize. In stark contrast, Sunset is very blunt about what happened. "A demon," she recalls in disgust. "I turned into a raging she-demon!"

Although the memories of the fall formal would have been clear in Sunset's mind, especially with the whole school holding it against her, her lack of sugarcoating doesn't really win her any points for the realistic side. However, it does show her character. She knows what she did was wrong and she wants to make it right. Her genuine disgust at her past self more than makes up for the slightly forced conversion in the first Equestria Girls movie.

**Reason 3: She feels the pressure of expectations.**

In an effort to act above her past, Sunset appears to be almost literally leashing herself. For instance, when Trixie mocked the Rainbooms for letting Sunset interrupt Rainbow Dash "in a fit of jealous rage", Sunset at first shouts at Trixie and turns red in anger. But she quickly catches herself and seems to blush out of shame. She is angry—this time rightly so—but even righteous anger could be interpreted wrongly coming from her.

Sunset's nighttime scene with Twilight in Pinkie Pie's kitchen may have been very short, but provides amazing depth for both characters. Both know that things are expected of them, but those things are very different. The human Mane Six, and even Sunset Shimmer to an extent, expect Twilight to be able to whip up a counter-spell with no difficulty at all. But when she does have trouble, the pressure weighs on her.

Sunset Shimmer, on the other hand, faces very different expectations—everyone is "waiting for (her) to cause a problem" even though she has demonstrably changed. Here she reveals that while she has consciously made a choice to not act on her negative desires, she still struggles with it and sometimes fears that she can't maintain it. But she longs to be able to keep it up, not wanting to let her newfound friends down.

I'm going to briefly recount what I consider to be the most interesting lines in the scene, in terms of character development.

Twilight: Just because everyone expects something from you, doesn't mean it's guaranteed to happen.

Sunset: But that doesn't stop them from expecting it.

Twilight: Which only makes things harder because the last thing you wanna do is…

Both: …let everybody down.

These brief lines speak volumes.

**Reason 4: She's redeemed.**

A lot of bronies talk about "the redemption of Sunset Shimmer" as if it were a joke, but I believe it was a very significant event on a couple of levels. The first part is fairly obvious—her singing helped the Rainbooms defeat the sirens when their own magic proved to not be enough. But we can go even deeper than that. We all know how the Rainbooms and even Twilight grew pony features as they sang the counter-spell—Sunset Shimmer did likewise when she joined in. While this may seem a moot point, since she as a unicorn in human form could be expected to turn "anthro", there's more detail than meets the eye.

Remember why the girls' pony features appeared? While never outright stated, it can be inferred from evidence in both movies that the pony features and the girls' protection from the sirens was because they carried the magic of friendship inside. Sunset's transformation proved that she now carries that magic too, and has totally changed.

Additionally, Sunset now has the very real potential to pull off some amazing magical feats of her own. Remember her stripe in the rainbow? I've got my own headcanons about why that happened, but my headcanon is my idea alone. The point is, up until now we've only seen six stripes in the Elemental Rainbow (or as some bronies affectionately call it, "the rainbow laser of death"). A seventh stripe makes me wonder. Since each stripe represents one Element of Harmony, could Hasbro be introducing the seventh Element of Harmony—the one that's already featured in countless fanfictions (yes, including mine)?

I don't know. But it's certainly an amazing possibility.

**Conclusion**

No one really knows what Hasbro has planned for Sunset. Since the writers are very strict about not releasing spoilers, all we've got to go on right now is evidence from the canon MLP that's been released. And brony predictions have, judging from past predictions, rarely hit the mark.

Frankly, if the story keeps up the high story quality and amazing character development I've seen so far in Sunset Shimmer, I don't really care what Hasbro does with her. I'm just excited to see more of her, in Equestria or in Equestria Girls.


End file.
